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Speaking of the upcoming "girl's" racket, I'm not sure whether Panda should settle on exclusively labelling it to be so gender specific. I mean, you'll turn off potential male buyers for it, and some females can hit harder than males. Just a thought...

Speaking of the upcoming "girl's" racket, I'm not sure whether Panda should settle on exclusively labelling it to be so gender specific. I mean, you'll turn off potential male buyers for it, and some females can hit harder than males. Just a thought...

I think Panda will just make the shaft more flexible for females? o.o
Prob still a great racquet like the Arc9 though; I've seen many males use the Arc9.

Prob still a great racquet like the Arc9 though; I've seen many males use the Arc9.

Exactly
Gender specific rackets dont really deter players, as long as the racket plays well. I have seen Many Males proudly wield their arc 9's, complete with Pink string and grip. Same stands with the AT600.

Speaking of the upcoming "girl's" racket, I'm not sure whether Panda should settle on exclusively labelling it to be so gender specific. I mean, you'll turn off potential male buyers for it, and some females can hit harder than males. Just a thought...

well the arc 9 is sorta like a 'cult' racket that is used by many good male players anyway!

Exactly
Gender specific rackets dont really deter players, as long as the racket plays well. I have seen Many Males proudly wield their arc 9's, complete with Pink string and grip. Same stands with the AT600.

Just because Yonex says or alludes the Arc 9 is made for women, it doesn't mean it is.

I've tried three different Arc 9s now and they are heavy in weight (heavy 3U) and the BP was around 300. So the rackets were all hammers. Even most guys couldn't wield it effectively.

Then I've seen a few that were light 3Us more evenly balanced that were more reasonable for women to use but still not optimized for women.

Since you have an extensive exposure to various rackets and strings, what's your experience with plastic birdies?
(I can hear the shock from the gallery now... Heresy! They'd say. But let's forget all the debate about how feather is better... it is better, I've played it. The crack of a perfectly hit shot or the sharp trajectory of a drop is both rewarding and addictive. But plastic is sooo much cheaper for some of us poor sods!)

In terms of playing with plastic birds, I gather that thicker strings at lower tensions are optimal as oppposed to feather; but how about optimal racket characteristics? My intuition says moderately head heavy, but not sure about the shaft stiffness...

I'm interested in your take on it, as I have not seen this question asked before.

Panda has played with plastic a few times and each time either a racket or string broke.

So no plastic for Panda.

If you play plastic, just attack. It's truly hard to play a real skill game with plastic. Just use a cheap racket and a thick string, ZM70, BG65, BG70Pro and pray you don't mishit and break your racket.

Panda has played with plastic a few times and each time either a racket or string broke.

So no plastic for Panda.

If you play plastic, just attack. It's truly hard to play a real skill game with plastic. Just use a cheap racket and a thick string, ZM70, BG65, BG70Pro and pray you don't mishit and break your racket.

Fair enough. I'm aware plastic is more forgiving of technique and skill.

But if you ever do play plastic, may I suggest using BG65 at 22lb instead of your ZM65 at 32lb, so that strings and rackets are unharmed.